Review

Mumford and Sons release their new album on Monday, so i figured it was time to review Sigh No More. Now, i used to have a huge amount of love for this debut album from the folk rockers, and would happily have 5'd it when it first came out. However, with experience comes wisdom, and i can give this a much more unbiased review now. This may not be as good as i initially thought, but it sure is slightly above average.

Kicking things off with the title track, we are gifted a very slow opening to a song with some very deep, meaningful lyrics. However, this song does not really get going until around the 1.50 mark, when it finally kicks off in a speedier manner, and this really suits the band, as they know how to play nice mid-paced folk numbers. The banjo thumping along in the background is the highlight of nearly every song on this album, and it is clear that Winston Marshall really does possess a lot of talent on his instrument.

The other standouts are The Cave, Dust Bowl Dance and Little Lion Man. Little Lion Man is the bands most well known song, and with good reason, being incredibly well written and having some beautiful vocals from Marcus Mumford. The Cave is another of the bands best known tracks, and has the most amazing lyrics from the album, with some real thought put into them and so many different interpretations possible that they are breathtaking. The banjo once again only adds to this song.

However, Dust Bowl Dance is the best song on here, hands down. The lyrics have a real aura of desperation to them that suits the music perfectly, which is a slow, mourning number, with some beautiful vocals from Mumford. However, as the song progresses, it picks up and just gets more and more intense and incredible. The instrumental work to this is gorgeous, having so much talent behind it that it is hard to take in at first listen. This song really is one of the most amazing songs in the genre, and it is very rare that a song like this comes along.

Unfortunately, for the most part, this album manages to be a consistent average. There is little variation throughout it, and songs such as White Blank Page and Winter Winds just come across feeling lazy, as though the band just went through the motions without trying to make them stand out from the rest of the album.

The vocal work is absolutely breathtaking on this album, throwing out the lyrics with everything from love to rage, and goes perfectly with the well written instrumentals in the background. Each member of this band knows exactly what they are doing, and they pull it off perfectly. Dust Bowl Dance is the best song on here, but all of the songs have solid vocal work and instrumentals , it is just that many of them come across as feeling half formed, and therefore this album is nothing more than slightly above average. 3/5

I honestly never liked them. Not that when I first heard their album I didn't think it was good but
it's like... it doesn't last. It's like a shot glass of liquid sugar melted into a very thin
record to me. =/

I get the appeal but it's not for me. The banjo breakdowns and emotional stampeding vocals... it does
nothing for me.